Discover Healthy Convenience Foods For Special Dietary Needs

With new discoveries made in medicine and technology, we are becoming more aware of how food is impacting our everyday lives. Many times, convenience foods do not fit into these dietary needs.

Carbohydrates, gluten, and sugars have become unwanted elements in so many diets. There are still a few staples when it comes to healthy convenience food for special dietary needs.

Here we'll take a look at foods covering the low carb, gluten free, and diabetic areas of need:


Low Carb

· Nuts and Seeds – Jammed full of protein and antioxidants, nuts and seeds are a great convenience food for the low carb diet. It is important to get the raw nuts and seeds as opposed to the ones that are roasted, salted, candied, or any other form of preparation. These prepared varieties generally have high levels of sugars and sodium.
· Jerky – There are a variety of meats used to make jerky, each with its own unique flavor and nutritional content. You can find naturally cured turkey jerky, beef jerky, and venison jerky now through many distributors. Jerky is low carb and low fat, even the beef jerky. That is because all the fat is trimmed off before smoking to keep the product from becoming rancid. Of course, turkey and venison are naturally low in fat. Avoid the over-seasoned and flavored varieties; you don't need them. The plain jerky is mighty flavorful all by itself.
· Cheese – A great snack to carry around, cheese is not only filling, but also a great source of calcium and protein. And, you can hardly get tired of it. With so many variations of cheeses, you can have a different cheese every day for weeks or months and not repeat once. You say you like your cheese with crackers? There are also a variety of low carb crackers on the market. If you're worried about calories, choose cheeses made with skim milk.

Gluten Free

· Larabars – An all natural, nutrient dense bar, made with figs and numerous other organic ingredients, Larabars have made a home in the gluten free diet of convenience foods. With flavors like Cashew Cookie, Apple Pie Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Carrot Cake, you have a wide array of choices with Larabars.
· Plantain Chips – While many chips use gluten to hold them together, plantain chips offer a delicious sweet and salty crunch that is almost irresistible. A brother to bananas, plantains hold their consistency and flavor better than most other dried fruits.

Diabetic

. Beans – Beans are a staple in most diabetic diets. Of course, while salt and additives can be controlled better when you soak and cook your own beans, canned beans are a great substitute. Look for cans packed in water or natural juices, and avoid beans packed in preservative-dense liquid. You'll find many canned beans have already eliminated the preservatives, but many still include a good deal of salt. Just rinse them well before eating.
· Fresh Vegetables – While fresh fruits are often a caution to diabetics, most fresh vegetables are good to go. Vegetables that are high in water content are a perfect food choice for diabetics.

Vegetables high in starch can pose a problem, but those are usually easily identifiable; these include vegetables such as corn and potatoes.

Stick with carrots, peppers, celery, spinach, and many other leafy greens to avoid any possible issues. For convenience sake, buy already cut up vegetables or cut them up as soon as you get them home and store in zip-lock bags so they're ready when you are.

If you have special dietary needs, there is no reason you should have to be tied down to stirring a pot all day. There are plenty of convenience foods out there for you, just make sure you pay attention to the labels and check with your physician before beginning a new diet.